Grace

by Susan Sampson

Grace!  Is there a sweeter word?  The love and grace that are Jesus, that God has given us in Jesus!  What peace and joy and rest this brings.  I think I loved this lecture so much because I am one who has spent a lifetime of performing, thinking I have to earn God’s love, that I can’t make a mistake, He won’t love me if I’m not perfect, He’ll be mad at me if I make a mistake.  These are all lies.  The Lord’s love is unconditional!  He has freely given us His love and grace.  Oh how I desperately want to RECEIVE His love and grace!

Father in heaven, please open our hearts to you.  We are unable apart from you!  We are desperately in need of your grace!  Help us, by your grace, to enter into your grace each morning.  Compel us by your love.  As we rise each morning, may we have grace to love you because you first loved us.  May it bring us great joy.  Joy we have never known.  Freedom.  May we humbly come to have you minister to us by washing our feet.  Wash us with the water of your Word.  We need your help to be vulnerable.  Forgive our fear, Father.  Help us trust you as little children.  Help our unbelief!  We want to believe, we want to trust, we want to love!  We want Jesus to be our all in all!  Thank you for delivering us from the domain of darkness and transferring us to the kingdom of your beloved Son in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins (Col. 1:13)!  Give us the grace we need to run to you, not away from you.  Oh, that we would no longer hide in shame.  Set us free!  Jesus took our shame and guilt upon Himself that day at Calvary – help us believe!  Help us receive!  “In the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.  My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me” (Ps. 63:7-8).  Thank you, Father God, for your living Word.  Help us to abide in you, remain in you, believe you and follow you — all for your glory.  In Jesus’ all-powerful name, Amen.

Whatever it takes dear sisters to make Jesus our first love – let this be the cry of our hearts.

“My beloved speaks and says to me: “Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away, for behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. The fig tree ripens its figs, and the vines are in blossom; they give forth fragrance. Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away” (Song of Sol. 2:10-13).

 

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Set Free by Christ

by Susan Sampson

I wanted to share a note from my ESV Study Bible that encouraged me and spoke truth to my mind and heart. When I read Psalm 119 it is easy for me to get discouraged because I think, “I don’t do that,” or, “I don’t feel that way.”
The study note says, “The law is a faithful expression of God’s character. God sent his Son to keep the law for us. The law no longer condemns us, setting us free to accept it as our own guide for pleasing the One who died in our place.”
It’s not about my perfect obedience or my children’s perfect obedience. It’s about Christ’s perfection. He perfectly obeyed the law for us and we have been set free by Christ! May our souls apprehend this truth of the gospel and may it refresh our soul and brings us to a new place of worship, gratitude, and love for our Savior.

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Unconditional Love

by Susan Sampson

The words of the Lord to us –

“Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and COME away” (Song of Solomon 2:13).

“COME, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! COME, buy wine and milk without money and without price” (Isaiah 55:1).

“COME to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

“Incline your ear, and COME to me; hear, that your soul may live…” (Isaiah 55:3a).

Lord, give us ears to hear your voice calling to us in this dry and weary land where there is no water.  Calling us to return to our first love.  Compel us by your love to respond to your word.  “We love because you first loved us”  (1 John 4:19)

“I am my beloved’s, and his desire is for me”  (Song of Solomon 7:10).

One sentence that pierced my heart was “STOP trying to get me to love you!” I have lived my life trying to be worthy. Trying to be good enough.  Trying to get it right. Yet the truth of God’s Word tells me: “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6).  But the Lord is saying to us that we don’t have to be anything for Him to love us!  We don’t have to get it right!  He loves us unconditionally!  Jesus is our Righteousness.  The Lord delights in us because we are in His Son!  He knows my every thought and yet He still loves me!  He left heaven and suffered for us!  May these truths deeply penetrate our hearts and come to life!

“I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels” (Isaiah 61:10).

Through Christ, all our sins have been forgiven.  Our sin has been conquered.  It died with Christ and now Christ lives in us!

The goal of our study is that we would know Jesus’ love for us like never before and that we would then love Jesus like never before!  We want to thirst after Jesus.  We want to long after Jesus.  We want our passion to be Jesus.  In looking at my heart I know my passion is not Jesus.  My heart is lukewarm.  The psalmist’s passion was God and His Word.  He immersed himself in God’s Word.  He meditated on God’s Word day and night.  We must stop immersing ourselves in the things of the world and go to the well of Living Water.  I must stop immersing myself in my agenda and be washed with the water of the Word.

Our bridegroom is calling.  He is relentlessly pursuing us.  He will never stop.  He bought us with His blood.

He loves us perfectly.  How has He loved us?  “As the Father has loved me, so have I love you.  Abide in my love” (John 15:9).

May we have the grace to respond to His call and fall in love with our Lord like never before.

Today, may we trust, receive, enjoy, believe and enter into God’s love and as we do so reflect the radiance of His glory.  This is the greatest love we can give to our husbands.

 

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